Chocolate-enrobing machine.



W. FRITZ.

CHOCOLATE ENROBING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED mum, 1910.

1,1 32,253. Patented Mar. 16, 1915,

no o 27 WILLIAM FRITZ, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CHOCOLATE-ENROBING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

Application filed June 1, 1910. Serial No. 564,536.

To all whom it ma concern:

Be it known t ".t 1, WILLIAM Fnrrz, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and use ful Ch colate-Enrobing Machine, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates'to that class of machines which are employed for placing a coating of chpcolate or other material on candy blanks or filling.

The invention consists of a novel construction of a container for the coating material, novel means .for ejecting the coating material against opposite sides of the blank or filling, and novel means for causing the travel of the blank or filling.

It further consists of a novel construction of an apertured belt or conveyor, and a novel construction of discharge mechanism for the coating material whereby I am enabled to place a uniform coating of material on all sides of the filling or blank.

It further consists of other novel features of construction, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings one form thereof which is at pres ent preferred by me, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, a1though,it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously' arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation partly in section of a. chocolate enrobing or coating machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a section on line o-b Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents a section on line m-qf Fig. 2.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings :The framework of the machine includes cross-bars 1 which are carried by standards 2.

3 designates the outer container which is adapted to hold the heating medium such as .hot water and 4 designates the inner container into which the coating material is placed, it being understood from Fig. 1 that the containers 3 and 4 are secured to the frame-work in any desired manner.

5 designates a rotary pump which is 'adapted to be sprung into position since the containers 3 and 4 are preferably made of thin sheet metal.

6 designates a shaft journaled in the pump 5 and secured in position by means of washers 7 and nuts 8.

The casing of the rotary pump 5 forms the bottom of the inner container 4 and is provided'with an inlet passage 9 through which the coating material may pass into the chamber of the rotary pump and into the path of the eccentric piston 10. This piston 10 is provided with an opening 11 and a pin 12 whereby a hook may be in serted in the opening 9 to unlock the shaft 6 so that the same may be removed. The piston; 10 is loosely fitted into a. slotted opening in the shaft 6. The coating material is forced by the piston 10 through the discharge conduit 13 which latter is 1'0 tatably mounted on the container land secured in position by means of the nut 14 which engages the container and the shoulder 15 of the conduit 13. The main discharge conduit 13 is provided with an upper and lower branch conduit 16 each of which is provided with a slot 17 said slots being in alinement with each other and adapted to discharge the coating material toward each other. The branch conduit 16 is secured by means of couplings 18 to the main discharge conduit 13 and the outer ends of the conduit 16 are closed by means of caps 19. The conduit 30 has its upper end closed by a cap 20 which is adapte to be manually grasped to rotate the branch conduit 16 beyond the apertured conveyer 21 which latter travels on rollers 22- journaled in a support 23 carried by the crossbars 1. The shaft 24 which carries a roller 22 is adapted to la driven in any desired manner either by power or manually and this shaft has also mounted thereon a pulley 25 which is connectedby means of'a belt 26 with the shaft 6 in order to drive the latter and actuate the rotary pump.

In the o eration the coating material of any desir nature, for example chocolate, is placed in the container 4 and a heating or cooling medium is placed in the container 3 in order to maintain the coating material at a desired temperature. Upon the rotation of the shaft 6 the coating material will be discharged through the main discharge conduit 13 into the branch conduit 16 and Will be projected through the slots 17 against the article carried by the apertured conveyer 2i so that the coating material will not only be evenly spread upon the upper face of the blanks or fillings but will be ejected through the apertured conveyer 21 so that the bottom of the blanks or filling will be substantially uniformly coated with the coating material. The coating material which does not adhere to the articles will drop into the container 4. The

articles are preferably placed on a receiving belt 27 which passes around a. roller 28 and a brace 29 so that the articles may be automatically passed to the apcrtured conveyer 21 if desired.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction of a chocolate enrobing machine which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as de sir-able in the statement of the invention and the above description, and While I have, in the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification branch conduits, and means to pump the in various particulars Without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, What 3 I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a chocolate coating machine, a container for the chocolate, means to maintain the chocolate in the container at the desired temperature, a main discharge conduit communicating with said container and having a shoulder rotatably mounted thereon, a nut engaging said shoulder and container to retain said conduit in assembled position, an upper and "a lower branch conduit extending laterally from said. main conduit and having their outer ends closed, said upper conduit having a longitudinally extending slot in its lower face, having a longitudinally extending slot in its upper face and in alinement with the slot in said upper conduit, means to pass the ar ticles to be coated between the slots of said chocolate from said container through said discharge conduit and said branch conduits.

l/VILLIAM FRITZ. Witnesses:

FREDERICK G. Lone, JOHN Knox.

said lower conduit 5 

